Coming Down To Nothing
by LetTheRadioBreakTheSilence
Summary: Natalie's new boyfriend was perfect. She couldn't ask for anything more...yet she felt like she had nothing. Songfic, one-shot.


**A/N: So, this is a songfic of "The Way I Loved You" by Taylor Swift, but I already have a story with that title, so I had to choose something else…anyways, enjoy and review!**

"Hey, baby…what's wrong?"

Natalie looked up into her boyfriend's eyes. She and Adam had met in psychology class last semester and started dating shortly after. He was the perfect gentleman.

"It's fine…I just didn't do as well on my bio test as I wanted to," she told him.

He kissed her forehead gently. "You've aced all the rest. I'm sure it won't hurt your grade."

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I've got to finish up a paper before we leave, but do you want to get going around five?"

"Sure," Adam smiled. "I'll give you a ride home. I'm just gonna go say 'hi' to Jeff really fast, okay?"

Natalie nodded and watched him walk towards his friend. He always knew the right thing to say. He was tall and athletic, with dark hair and deep, brown eyes. She was so lucky…she just wished she could appreciate that.

They were going to her parents' house tonight for dinner. They hadn't met him yet, and she knew that they would love him. Everyone loved him. Her friends approached her and glanced in Adam's direction.

"Have I told you how jealous of you I am?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, me too," Jennifer smirked. "He's perfect."

Natalie forced a smile. "Yep…I couldn't ask for anything better."

She knew it was true, but it didn't feel that way to her. There _was _something better, and even after two years, she still found herself thinking about him. She couldn't wash the memories away, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to, either.

"_Nat, truck guy's outside again," Zack smirked as he poked his head into her bedroom._

"_God, he's such a freak," Brooke scoffed, looking up from her chemistry homework._

_Natalie bit her tongue. She hated the way they talked about him. He wasn't a freak. He was misunderstood; sometimes, she felt like she was, too._

"_Um…okay," she replied. "Thanks."_

_Zack disappeared and closed the door behind him. Brook looked up at her friend and gave her a sympathetic look._

"_What is his deal? I'm so glad I don't have to deal with someone like that."_

"_He's not that bad," Natalie admitted. "He's…real. I don't know. It's kind of refreshing."_

"_Real? Real weird, maybe," Brooke laughed. She closed her chemistry book and set it next to her on the bed. "Do you think Raff's gonna be at the Brick tonight?"_

"This is it," Natalie said, pointing to a nice, white house.

Adam pulled into the driveway and took the keys out of the ignition. He got out and walked around to the other side of the car to open her door for her.

"Thanks," she smiled as she stepped out of the car.

"You're welcome," he replied. He kissed her and looked sweetly into her eyes. "You look beautiful tonight."

"You always say that."

He smirked and laced his fingers through hers. "Well, you always look beautiful."

Natalie felt bad sometimes. He should be with a girl that could really, _really_ love him. Someone who wouldn't just stay with him because it was comfortable.

She opened the door and stepped into her old house. "Hello? We're here…"

"How are you?" her mother grinned as she hurried towards them. She embraced her daughter and then extended her hand to Adam. "And you must be Adam!"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, shaking her hand politely.

"Ma'am? Call me Cynthia!" she laughed. "I've heard so much about you! Tim, come downstairs! They're here!"

Natalie's father appeared a moment later. He hugged her tightly. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hey, dad. This is Adam."

The two men shook hands and exchanged greetings.

"What's your major, son?" Tim asked.

"Photography, sir."

A wide grin spread across her father's face. "Photography? Follow me, let me show you some of my work."

"He's cute," Cynthia smiled when the two disappeared. "Dinner's in about twenty minutes."

"Yeah," Natalie muttered.

She wandered into the living room. There was a large window that looked out at the street. She always caught herself looking out it when she was home, a part of her expecting to see him parked outside in his old, yellow truck.

"_Keith?" Natalie turned to look him in the eyes, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen upon them._

_They were lying in the bed of his truck on the cliff, looking up at the sky. It was cloudy, and she thought it might rain. But for the time being, she was just enjoying being with him._

"_Yeah?"_

_She knew her family thought he was a freak, but they just didn't know him like she did. He didn't have much time left, and she wanted them to meet him while they still could. Once they did, they would love him, too._

"_Will you come over for dinner tomorrow night?" she asked._

_Keith smiled at her. She loved his smile. "No."_

_Her face fell at his answer. She sat up and leaned against the side of the truck bed, annoyed. "Why not?"_

"_Why do you want me to?"_

_She thought for a moment and tried to choose the answer that would best convince him. "For me? I want my family to meet you…to get to know you."_

"_There's no point," he said flatly, also sitting up. "They won't like me, and if they do, they won't have time to get to know me."_

"_Don't talk like that," she begged him._

_Natalie knew that he was sick, but she tried to forget. It was hard, though, when he said things like that. She didn't understand how he could seem so fearless. She was scared to death, and she wasn't even the one who was dying._

"_Nat, accept it. I'm going to die. You were the one who wanted to be with me even after you knew that, so don't ignore it."_

_She glared at him angrily. "Why do you always do that? Of course I know that you're sick, but that doesn't mean it's what I want to think about every time I think of you. You're here now, and I want my family to understand why I love you."_

"_Bullshit," he smirked. "They think I'm a freak and you want to prove to them that I'm not."_

"_You're such an asshole sometimes," she sighed._

_She felt a raindrop hit her and looked up to the sky, just in time to see the clouds open up. The rain poured down on them._

"_What did you just say to me?" Keith asked, jokingly getting in her face._

"_I called you an ass…" she started, but Keith pressed his lips against hers before she could finish her sentence._

_She wrapped her arms around his neck and savored the moment. She was soaking wet, but as long as she was with him, nothing else mattered._

"Your family is great," Adam told her as they stood outside of her apartment building. "Why didn't you tell me that your dad was a photographer?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Natalie, there's something I need to tell you," he said seriously.

"Yeah?"

He took her hands in his and looked at her happily. "Natalie…I love you."

She wished that she felt something. Anything. Words like that were supposed to cause a strong reaction. But it didn't make her feel like the happiest girl in the world. It didn't make her heart break. She felt nothing.

She plastered a fake smile on her face. "Oh, Adam…"

"You don't have to say it back," he told her sincerely. "I just wanted you to know. Goodnight."

He kissed her and walked back to his car. She hated that he wasn't even upset that she didn't feel the same way. He was so understanding.

She walked upstairs and opened the door to her apartment. When she reached her bedroom, she opened her closet to find something to sleep in. As she shuffled her clothes around, her fingers grazed a pretty, yellow dress. She thought back to the last time she had worn it, two years ago.

_Natalie stood at the altar and looked into the group of people crowded into the pews. They were all wearing black. She didn't think that was what Keith wanted. She chose to wear a yellow dress. Everyone looked at her funny when they saw her, and they probably whispered about how it was inappropriate, but she knew that he was looking down and her and smiling. Yellow was his favorite color._

"_Um…" she started._

_She hadn't prepared anything to say. Nothing seemed to do him justice. He was like nobody she had ever met. They had been through so much in the little time they had known each other, and she had felt things she had never felt before when she was with him. She hadn't been able to think of any way to express that._

_Natalie sighed and closed her eyes. Memories of their time together rushed through her mind, and she said the first words that came to mind._

"_I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain_

_It's 2am and I'm cursing your name_

_I'm so in love that I acted insane, and that's the way I loved you_

_Breaking down and coming undone_

_I's a roller coaster kinda rush_

_And I never knew I could feel that much, and that's the way I loved you…"_

She wiped a tear from her eye and pulled a large t-shirt out of her closet to wear to bed. She thought about Adam, and everything he was. Sensible, charming, endearing…incredible. Her parents loved him. He always called when he said he would, and he never made her wait. All her friends were jealous of her. He always respected her space, and he always knew the right thing to say. Yes, Adam was everything Natalie _should _have wanted.

But all she wanted was Keith.


End file.
